GT4586: Yes, That’s a Ferrari-Powered Toyota 86 Drift Car

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Why shoehorn a Ferrari 458’s V-8 engine into the nose of a Toyota 86? Well, people, the Chicago Cubs have won a World Series, so anything goes in 2016, it seems. Drifter Ryan Tuerck is the lucky owner of this Frankenstein creation, which was built by Huddy MotorSports, and lo and behold, he has already starred in a bunch of videos where the car roasts its tires, goes very sideways, and is every bit the hooligan dream one would expect it to be.

You may be surprised—or maybe not—to learn that the engine swap was much more complicated than your average V-8 conversion for a car like the 86. If you think that has something to do with an Italian engine (and electronics) with double the cylinder count of a stock Toyota 86, you’re on the right track. More to the point, the V-8 came from the mid-engine 458, in which it faces the opposite direction from the way it is mounted in the front of the Toyota. Hence why the headers feed exhaust gases forward to two outlets ahead of each front wheel.

That’s only the beginning of the fabrication train, however. Given the Ferrari engine’s width and height—both dimensions dwarf the stock flat-four—most of the front cradle has been hacked apart and fabricated around the engine. The build even required that part of the windshield wiper tray atop the firewall, as well as part of the windshield, be cut away to make space for the intake runners. The transmission isn’t a Ferrari piece, but rather a five-speed sequential racing gearbox. A full cage ties the body together, and the suspension is set up for wild drifting action—with a new front suspension that allows greater steering lock. The completed car looks as mean as all get-out, and we prefer it without its hood. After all, what good is sticking a Ferrari engine into a Toyota coupe if those red crackle-finish details and Ferrari lettering don’t sparkle at every bystander? Although the car’s Ferrari engine wail and ability to shoot flames from its forward-mounted exhaust outlets probably would still catch people’s attention.